Annual Free Tea Towel post, and two free Bible stitcheries for 2025...

 

For those of you who are new to Elefantz, every year in January I share a free tea towel stitchery, and this year is no different.

With a blog theme in 2025 of "a new year of gentle domesticity", I designed the embellishment on this shop-bought unadorned tea towel to display that sentiment as a reminder for myself, and perhaps for you, through the months ahead. I never use my January tea towels for drying dishes or for kitchen work (I have more than twenty other lovely tea towels with hand crocheted edges for that purpose) but as a display over the oven door, in full view from anywhere in the kitchen. 

Use the link below to download the Gentle Domesticity tea towel pattern

DOWNLOAD Gentle Domesticity Stitchery

My love for the concept and application of living a gentle domestic life was birthed back in 2008 when a friend loaned me a copy of Jane Brocket's book, "The Gentle Art of Domesticity", and I soon purchased a copy of my own because the author actually celebrated and embraced the various aspects of a domestic life in such a way that my own perceptions, gained in childhood raised by my beloved Nana and Pop, were revived and enlarged. 

In 2019 I hosted a year long book study on this blog of "The Gentle Art of Domesticity", which is still available if you'd like to read through the 26 blog posts listed HERE in order of chapters. 

I was surprised to discover back in 2008 that domestic arts were something different to what I had orginally imagined. These days the domestic arts are usually thought of as crafting, baking, decorating - but to live a life of gentle domesticity is an art in itself and does not just mean the knitting of socks, sewing kitchen towels, wearing aprons or baking bread - they are all wonderful things we can do, but they are the end result of having a heart for homemaking. 

The real art of gentle domesticity is in the attitude we have towards our God-gifted tasks of homemaking. We are to care for our homes and loved ones with gratitude, delight and generosity, to be a blessing to them and to God, to create a space of welcome and sanctuary for those who dwell with us, and those who visit, and in doing this, the art of gentle domesticity becomes immensely life-giving to we who live such a life.  

It's all well and good to be doing, to be serving, to be working around the home, to be giving of things and self - the Bible applauds such things and so do I, but if our heart attitude is not one of genuine pleasure and gratitude for being able to live this way, and not seeing our resources, skills and relationships as a blessing, then we have not experienced the fullness of delights that come hand in hand with living a gentle domestic life. 

"And whatever you do, do it heartily, as unto the Lord, and not to men, 

knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance, for you serve the Lord Christ." Colossians 3:23-24

Hand-in-hand with this year's blog theme of Gentle Domesticity, is a personal theme, a direction from the Lord that is holding me far more accountable than you'd initially think as it covers every area of life, and every page of the Bible. I decided to create a stitchery of the verse our Lord laid upon my heart for 2025, and did it in two versions to share with you. 

I was gifted the new Tilda line, Sunday Brunch, to design with, and this is one of the ways I chose to use the fabrics...after all, God blessed me, so should I not also offer a gift to glorify Him?

The Bible is a page by page life lesson book, full of the Lord's wisdom, love, teachings, warnings and blessings. If there's one thing I have learned in my almost 34-year walk with God, it is to listen, and to do, whatever He tells me. 

Mostly they are directions from His perfect Word, but He also guides me personally, especially in the still of the night when I am undistracted by everything around me...and it was in one of those night conversations He drew me into, that He seared this verse upon my heart and would not erase it. That was about two months ago, and each morning the words of Mary, given as instruction to servants at a wedding feast, are pondered and prayed about as I seek what He would have me do that day. Every morning in my Bible study I find more and more to take to heart, all lessons in my responsibility as a Christ follower in this increasingly ungodly world. 

I displayed this stitchery in a pieced cover for my 2025 home and business diary, because I see it every day and am reminded Who it is I must follow, Who I need to listen to, Whose 'words in red' are the roadmap for my life, and Who paid the price for my life. There's no grey areas with Jesus, you are either on His side or you are not. You cannot sit on the fence if you're a professing Christian, and you certainly cannot be a closet believer. We watched the 2024 movie, Bonhoeffer, the other night, and if you ever needed to see how a life can be changed by following Christ, and how courage in a believer can change the lives of others, then I recommend you see it too. Highgy recomended. 

I made the cover, just as you would a pieced quilt, and bound the inside edges before binding the top and bottom of the cover. A fabric bookmark was added at the end.

I also designed a second version of this Scripture, as an alternative for you. This one has applique, and is larger than the oval one, so you could use it in a cushion cover, or wall hanging. Consider stitching some Scripture this year as gifts for others, and to decorate your home. :-)

Use the links below to download the free John 2:5 patterns...

DOWNLOAD Do Whatever He Tells You (oval stitchery) pattern

DOWNLOAD Do Whatever He Tells You (applique) pattern

Well my dear ones, this was certianly a long post, but I had a lot on my heart to share with you today, as well as the three free patterns. 

I pray they all bless your love of stitching and creating, but mostly I pray your heart has been blessed today...for that's my desire this year, to be a blessing in what I write and design, and that you would prosper and be content in all the Lord has for us in our simple everyday gentle domestic lives. 

Love

PS: If the links don't work for you when you receive my blog posts via email from Follow.it, just come direct to the blog post and download. 

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